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We're adding to our position in a sliding stock and booking profits in a 2025 winner We're adding to our position in a sliding stock and booking profits in a 2025 winner We’re making a pair of trades Monday as Wall Street rallies to kick off the week. Source link #We039re #adding #position #sliding #stock #booking #profits #winner Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Trump, Musk could put U.S. at default risk: former Treasury chiefs Trump, Musk could put U.S. at default risk: former Treasury chiefs Elon Musk walks on Capitol Hill on the day of a meeting with Senate Republican Leader-elect John Thune (R-SD), in Washington, U.S. December 5, 2024. Benoit Tessier | Reuters Five former Treasury secretaries warned Monday that recent actions at the Treasury Department by Trump administration officials and Elon Musk’s DOGE team raise “substantial cause for concern” that the United States’ financial commitments are being “unlawfully” undermined. “We have during our service in the Treasury Department faced moments of crisis, when the specter of an American default loomed,” the former secretaries wrote in a New York Times op-ed. “Any hint of the selective suspension of congressionally authorized payments will be a breach of trust and ultimately, a form of default. And our credibility, once lost, will prove difficult to regain,” they wrote. But Kevin Hassett, a top economic advisor to President Donald Trump, dismissed the former secretaries’ concerns during an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, he said, “has found that controls for spending of the previous [Biden] administration were unacceptable. They were sending money out without knowing where the money was going.” Hassett also said idea that Musk was acting as, in his words, “a puppet master” at the Treasury Department was “poppycock.” “Elon Musk is in the office next to me,” Hassett said. “He’s not in control.” The ex-secretaries who wrote the op-ed were Robert Rubin, Lawrence Summers, Timothy Geithner, Jacob Lew and Janet Yellen, all of whom served under Democratic presidents: Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Kevin Hassett Ashley ********* | CNBC The dueling narratives come amid escalating legal battles over access to the Treasury Department’s highly sensitive payment systems, which members of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency team have sought and been granted. As DOGE and other elements of the Trump administration move to slash federal spending and employee headcount, the government’s payment disbursement system, run by the Treasury’s Fiscal Service, has drawn their attention. Read more CNBC politics coverage Their op-ed cites reporting last week by The Times that the Treasury Department’s chief of staff originally pushed for a member of Musk’s DOGE team, Tom Krause, “to receive access to the closely held payment system so that the Treasury could freeze disbursements to the U.S. Agency for International Development.” Emails seen by the Times “undercut Treasury’s explanation” for why Krause and other members of Musk’s team were granted access to the payments system, which disburses more than $5 trillion in federal funding, the newspaper noted. The Treasury Department has said Krause and his team “are conducting an ‘operational efficiency assessment’ that does not involve blocking agency payments,” the Times reported. In their op-ed, the former secretaries said the access “upended” the long-standing practice of payment systems operated by a “very small group of nonpartisan career civil servants.” “The roles of these nonpartisan officials have been compromised by political actors from the so-called Department of Government Efficiency,” the op-ed said. “We take the extraordinary step of writing this piece because we are alarmed about the risks of arbitrary and capricious political control of federal payments, which would be unlawful and corrosive to our democracy,” the former secretaries wrote. Hassett, who leads the National Economic Council, argued strenuously against the op-ed’s premise and claims Monday. “Can we talk about the Treasury letter first?” Hassett asked the “Squawk Box” hosts. “There’s so much misinformation in it.” Hassett continued, “Let’s just make it clear the Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, is in charge of the Treasury.” Bessent, said Hassett, “has found that controls for spending of the previous [Biden] administration were unacceptable.” “They were sending money out without knowing where the money was going. They were sending money out without flagging, you know, ‘what it was for?’ They didn’t check before they sent the money out, whether it was appropriated,” Hassett said. “And as we go in and look, we’re finding lots of things that shouldn’t have been sent.” Hassett said, “There’s a lot of work to be done to clear that up.” “This idea that there’s a puppet master telling the Treasury secretary what to do, and therefore all the Treasury secretaries need to be, like, alarmed, that’s just left-wing media, you know, poppycock.” “Why are we making up fake things about what Elon is doing, because we’re trying to just see where the money’s going,” Hassett said. “And I think it’s probably, in the end, we’re going to find that a lot of money went to bad places.” Source link #Trump #Musk #put #U.S #default #risk #Treasury #chiefs Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Clean energy incentives clear last major hurdle Clean energy incentives clear last major hurdle Australia is one step closer to transitioning away from fossil fuels after major tax incentives for clean energy passed the Senate. Source link #Clean #energy #incentives #clear #major #hurdle Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Overwatch 2 Devs Worked Extra-Hard To Introduce the Game’s First Openly Pansexual Hero Overwatch 2 Devs Worked Extra-Hard To Introduce the Game’s First Openly Pansexual Hero There’s no denying the fact that video games are an incredible way for gamers to live out their fantasies and be a part of the story being told. For many in the LGTBQIA community, it’s especially important to find games that allow players to represent themselves. Overwatch 2 does an incredible job with LGTBQ+ representation. (Image via Blizzard) Although Overwatch had not led with its characters’ sexualities or gender identities outright, it wasn’t long before many of them were revealed as gay, lesbian, or *********. Overwatch 2 has committed more to this with its brand new character that identifies as a pansexual, meaning they don’t consider gender when choosing their partners. Overwatch 2‘s first pansexual character was done right Blizzard wanted to accurately represent Lifeweaver’s sexuality. (Image via Blizzard) Since his introduction in Overwatch 2 all the way back in April 2023, Lifeweaver has been one of the most popular heroes. His incredibly useful abilities allow him to provide cover and vantage points for his entire team and rescue players from death. What you might not know is that Lifeweaver is a pansexual character. Blizzard has introduced tons of LGTBQ+ characters, but the studio hasn’t handled them in the best way. However, that’s not the case with Lifeweaver, as his sexuality is clearly reflected in how the character is written. While chatting with Gamingtrend, Blizzard’s development team opened up about their approach to Lifeweaver and how they developed the character for Overwatch 2. According to the developers, the character’s open sexuality was a critical part that was consulted with everyone and eventually formed the core of Lifeweaver’s personality. The ‘open’ part was very important to everyone we consulted. I’m very happy to say that it’s something we are making part of his core character The fact that ideas of love and inclusivity influence Lifeweaver’s entire concept, his open pansexuality, was a perfect characterization to bring into his design. As pansexuality approaches sexuality on the basis of the person and not their gender, the character’s support role as a hero and helping others is found in his similar love and affection for anyone regardless of how they are identified. Lifeweaver’s dialogues in the game clearly reflect his commitment to accepting everyone. He literally asks if Junkrat and Roadhog are a couple or not. Other LGTB+ heroes in Overwatch 2 Tracer from Overwatch 2. (Image via Blizzard) Let’s be honest, Tracer is one of the most recognizable characters in Overwatch 2, but many don’t know that she was the first hero to be confirmed as a lesbian. In one of the Overwatch comics, called “Tracer: Reflections,” it’s been revealed that she’s dating her girlfriend Emily, and they’ve been together since Overwatch‘s first disbanding. The second character who was revealed to be a part of the LGTBQ+ community was none other than Soldier: 76. In the short story called “Bastet,” part of the character’s backstory is explored during his military service days during the Omnic Crisis, where it’s revealed that he was romantically involved with another man called Vincent. Although it’s not confirmed, after Lifeweaver’s introduction to the game, new dialogue interactions between him and other characters have also hinted at other heroes being a part of the LGTBQ+ community. Other than Roadhog and Junkrat, the community finds the interactions between Baptiste and Lifeweaver to be quite flirtatious, with the former open to the idea of dating a man. With that said, do you think the Overwatch 2 team has done a good job with Lifeweaver’s character? Let us know in the comments below. Source link #Overwatch #Devs #Worked #ExtraHard #Introduce #Games #Openly #Pansexual #Hero Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Markets Play Down the Hit From Trump’s Latest Trade Fight Markets Play Down the Hit From Trump’s Latest Trade Fight Hope you enjoyed the Super Bowl on Sunday night, and congrats to the Philadelphia Eagles. The ads were better than the game. We’ve got a rundown below. I got into a substantive debate on Sunday with Joe Lonsdale, the venture capitalist and co-founder of Palantir, and other investors, about how carried interest is taxed. President Trump has vowed to eliminate the tax exemption, which I’ve been writing about since 2007. You can read excerpts from the debate below. The new phase of the tariff fight Get ready for the latest round of President Trump’s trade wars. On Air Force One on Sunday, en route to the Super Bowl, the president said he would impose a 25 percent levy on all steel and aluminum imports and that reciprocal tariffs on trading partners were coming. China has already retaliated against new Trump tariffs that took effect on Monday, leaving the global economy to grapple with the reality of worldwide trade battles. The latest: Beyond the metals levy — which is aimed squarely at China — Trump is also eyeing broad tariffs on Europe, Taiwan and others, as well as on industries and key commodities like copper, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. Beijing has retaliated with $14 billion worth of tariffs against select American exports, including, coal, liquid natural gas and farm equipment, a sign that the trade war could expand quickly. “Trade and tariff wars have no winners,” Guo Jiakun, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, said on Monday. Gold, a metal not in the tariff crossfires, hit a new high as investors sought a haven. Otherwise, the market reaction on Monday has been muted. The prices of iron ore and aluminum are up only slightly — but the stock prices of U.S. Steel and Alcoa jumped in premarket trading. (Speaking of U.S. Steel, Trump said on Sunday that Nippon Steel could invest in its American rival, but that he was “not going to allow another country to buy” the domestic steel producer.) Investors are waiting to see if Trump makes good on his tariff threats this time. Remember that big tariffs on Canada and Mexico are on hold and that the administration temporarily paused its repeal of the so-called de minimis exemption on cheap imports because of the chaos it introduced. Canada stands to lose big. The country is a major supplier of both steel and aluminum to the U.S.; the ********* dollar fell this morning versus the greenback. In Trump’s first term, he also imposed tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum imports. But some of those imposed on Canada and Mexico were rolled back when a new North American trading agreement was struck. What will happen this time? Some business leaders are fretting tariffs. The policy uncertainty has dominated companies’ calls with analysts in recent weeks. Nick Pinchuk, the C.E.O. of the toolmaker Snap-on, compared the turmoil to “being on Space Mountain at Disney World.” The president has also instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to stop producing pennies, saying it’s too costly. HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING Elon Musk says he has no plans to buy TikTok. “I’ve not put in a bid for TikTok and I don’t have any plans for what would I do if I had TikTok,” Musk said at the WELT Economic Summit. Several companies, including Oracle, Amazon and Microsoft, have privately expressed interest in a potential deal for TikTok or its American operations, The Wall Street Journal reports, but as a ban looms executives of the video app are said to be seeking an outcome that doesn’t involve a *****. BP’s stock jumps as Elliott Investment Management reportedly builds up its stake. The activist investor wants the energy giant to make big changes to lift its slumping share price, Bloomberg reports. BP reports quarterly results on Tuesday and is expected to deliver a strategy update later this month that emphasizes the production of oil and gas. Inflation and Jay Powell will be in focus this week. The Fed chair is scheduled to begin two days of testimony on Tuesday, during which he’s expected to face questions including his outlook on interest rates and the central bank’s independence. On Wednesday, the Consumer Price Index report for January is set for release, with economists expecting to see a modest cooling of inflation — despite egg prices going bonkers. Trump stays in Musk’s corner, for now Many observers may have wondered if President Trump’s alliance with Elon Musk was facing strain, especially as Democrats and others have questioned whether the tech mogul was the one actually in charge. But for now, it appears, Trump and his team are solidly backing Musk’s cost-cutting ambitions. Trump called suggestions to limit Musk’s access to government agencies “crazy,” denouncing lawsuits and a court ruling temporarily blocking the so-called Department of Government Efficiency from accessing the Treasury Department’s payment system. Vice President JD Vance said on Sunday that “judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.” That’s despite growing concerns about the consequences of Musk’s work. Cybersecurity experts warned that his actions could make crucial government systems vulnerable to attack by China, Russia and others. And opponents said that the billionaire’s team could hurt important programs including Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security as it searches for significantly ******* cost cuts. (Two Democratic senators refused to rule out a government shutdown to fight back.) Mysteriously, Trump also suggested that the Musk panel had uncovered a potential problem with “Treasuries” — he didn’t elaborate — and that could mean the United States could disregard some payouts. In other Musk news: Here’s how one of his chief rivals, Sam Altman of OpenAI, outflanked the billionaire and got close to Trump. Europe pushes for a third front on A.I. DeepSeek spooked tech investors last month when the ******** chatbot revealed it was powered by a stunningly low-cost A.I. model. But in Europe, it was welcome news, Vivienne Walt reports for DealBook. “There has been a feeling in Europe that the A.I. race is over,” André Loesekrug-Pietri, president of the Joint European Disruptive Initiative, or JEDI, a funder of advanced tech research, told DealBook. “DeepSeek brought a big sense of hope that reshuffling the cards is always possible.” Executives and political leaders across the European Union are gathering in Paris on Monday and Tuesday to try to coordinate an A.I. strategy. Vice President JD Vance and China’s vice premier, Ding Xuexiang, are among the invitees, as are OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and Google’s Sundar Pichai. All are expected for dinner on Monday night with President Emmanuel Macron of France at the Élysée Palace. Europe’s A.I. start-ups have faced steep hurdles, leaving them too small to compete with U.S. and ******** companies. One problem: The E.U.’s 27 countries have no uniform policy on investment or regulations. Their unease deepened when President Trump unveiled the Stargate program last month in partnership with OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle, which is expected to raise at least $100 billion. France on Monday will announce a 109 billion euro ($112 billion) A.I. investment “during the coming years,” Macron said on television last night, calling it “exactly equivalent to what the U.S. announced with Stargate.” (Note: France has roughly one-fifth the United States’ population.) Still, Silicon Valley’s deep pockets are needed. DeepSeek’s emergence may pose a threat to American tech giants, and legislators want to ban the service on government phones. Some E.U. start-ups see that as an opportunity to draw more backers. Some of those investments have included: Mistral AI, Paris: The prominent unicorn was founded in 2023 by French engineers who had departed Meta and Google’s DeepMind. Valued at about €5.8 billion, it raised €600 million last year from investors such as General Catalyst, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Andreessen Horowitz. The company has opened an outpost in Palo Alto, Calif., and has said it is considering an I.P.O. Poolside, Paris: The code-writing start-up relocated from the U.S. to France in 2023, but still relies heavily on American investors: Last year it raised $500 million, at a $3 billion valuation, led by Bain Capital Ventures. DeepSeek’s low-cost model could shake up Europe, too. “This is both a reassuring moment, and a wake-up call,” Nicolas Miailhe, the founder of A.I. startup PRISM Eval, told DealBook. Debating some investors’ favorite tax break President Trump reopened a yearslong debate about taxes when he told Republican lawmakers last week that he would prioritize ending the so-called carried interest “loophole.” Several investors quickly took to defending the current tax treatment, which taxes a large portion of their funds’ profits at the lower capital gains rate, not as ordinary income. I got into an in-depth debate with the financier Joe Lonsdale and others about the wisdom of changing the tax code. It started when Lonsdale wrote: Even if I had no exposure to funds, I’d oppose taxing carry at a higher rate than cap gains. I love the current vibe: 100% remove taxes on tips or overtime, and lower taxes of everyday Americans! But, don’t distort incentives in ways that slow growth. It’s not a “loophole”! After a bit of back and forth, I offered this: If a real estate agent earns 20% on a deal, it’s taxed as ordinary income. If a lawyer takes a contingency fee on a case, it’s taxed as ordinary income. But if a private equity manager earns 20% on a deal, it’s magically capital gains. Why? Will Robinson, a partner at the investment firm Contrary, replied: Real estate agents take no risk. Investors can work for years and make nothing because of outside market forces. Also, inflation eats away at capital locked up over time. “Labor” is an immediate payout. We need to incentivize risk taking and long time horizons. I replied: The issue is that it isn’t your capital at risk. The reason we have a different rate for capital vs labor is to incentivize people to put up their own capital. To invest in America. For whatever reason, we have decided to tax people’s labor at a different, higher rate. Your labor is your labor. Investing other people’s money isn’t a special form of labor. And getting rid of carried interest doesn’t change the incentives for *investors* to put up their money.The only shift would be in the incentive for you to decide to choose a profession managing other people’s money. And if you’re doing it for the tax break, well, that means the system is rewarding tax arbitrage, not actual investment risk. Others, including Mark Suster of Upfront Ventures, weighed in. Please let us know what you think. The first A.I. Super Bowl The Super Bowl may have been short on drama. But commercials — including a flurry centered on artificial intelligence — ended up providing a lot of the entertainment for the night. OpenAI made its Super Bowl debut, splashing out on a one-minute spot — a ******-and-white pixelated production — that reportedly cost $14 million. (The Times’s Mike Hale loved it.) Other A.I.-themed ads included: What was absent: crypto, which dominated ads during the big game three years ago. That was before the fall of Sam Bankman-Fried, of course — but the industry’s fortunes have surged since then. Other ads we liked included the latest Ben Affleck spot for Dunkin’ and Pfizer’s anti-******* declaration. THE SPEED READ Deals Politics, policy and regulation Best of the rest We’d like your feedback! Please email thoughts and suggestions to *****@*****.tld. Source link #Markets #Play #Hit #Trumps #Latest #Trade #Fight Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Trump has paralyzed agency that safeguards worker rights, labor experts and advocates say Trump has paralyzed agency that safeguards worker rights, labor experts and advocates say President Trump’s firing of a member at the National Labor Relations Board leaves the federal agency unable to perform its duties protecting the rights of U.S. workers and monitoring union elections, according to labor experts. The agency is now down to two members, one below the minimum required to fully function, labor attorneys said, even as one of the country’s largest companies, Amazon, presses the NLRB to void the results of a recent union election due to the board’s downsizing. “Right now the NLRB is not operational because there are only two out of five board members and the Supreme Court has ruled that they cannot operate with less than three members,” Cathy Creighton, director of Cornell University’s Industrial and Labor Relations Buffalo Co-Lab. and a former field attorney for the NLRB, told CBS MoneyWatch. Congress set up the NLRB in 1935, during the Great Depression, to safeguard employee rights to collective bargaining. It oversees secret-ballot union elections and works to prevent and address unfair labor practices by private-sector employers and unions. ******** firing? The Jan. 27 ouster of NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox came as a shock and left the independent federal agency without the required number of members to function. “I handled cases where workers were fired and retaliated against for their conduct, but I never imagined that I would be the person being fired for doing my job,” Wilcox, 71, told CBS News in an interview Thursday. Wilcox is suing Mr. Trump, alleging the president exceeded his authority in firing her and requesting that she be reinstated as an NLRB member. Her firing runs counter to a “Supreme Court precedent that has ensured the independence of critical government agencies,” according to the lawsuit filed on Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The president’s bid to oust her from her Senate-confirmed position is “unlawful and unprecedented,” Wilcox said in a statement. “When Congress established the National Labor Relations Board almost 90 years ago, it made sure that the law would protect its independence from political influence. My removal, without cause or process, directly violates that law.” Appointed to the NLRB in 2021 and confirmed by the Senate in September 2023 to serve another term through 2028, Wilcox was told in a letter that she had not performed “in a matter consistent with the objectives” of the president. The White House press office did not respond to a request for comment. Wilcox’s firing seems “an ******** termination,” with no notice or hearing, Cornell’s Creighton said, noting that federal law prohibits a president from getting rid of board members except in case of negligence or malfeasance. How it affects workers Some of the NLRB’s day-to-day work can continue, but the board itself “can’t order parties to pay remedies or recognize a union,” said Matthew Bodie, a professor of law at the University of Minnesota. “There are some people who are concerned that the Trump administration will take its time to fill those three positions, or not fill them at all, so it renders the agency toothless at some level.” “We’ve never had this particular situation where it’s been rendered inoperative for lack of a quorum and what that means for workers,” added John Logan, a labor historian and professor at San Francisco State University’s Lam Family College of Business. “Do they exist only if there’s a bureaucratic framework to enforce them?” he asked of the legal protections granted workers. Whole Foods union effort in jeopardy The NLRB’s lack of a quorum is reason to overturn the results of a Jan. 27 election that had workers at a Whole Foods store in Philadelphia voting to unionize, the Amazon-owned grocery chain said in objections filed with the NLRB on Monday. Whole Foods has accused the local union of not playing by the rules. “The UFCW 1776 illegally interfered with our team members’ right to a fair vote at our Philly Center City Store. We have filed objections to these ******** actions and have asked the NLRB to set aside the results of the election,” Whole Foods told CBS MoneyWatch in a statement. The filings by Whole Foods are in line with tactics employed by its corporate parent, the UFCW said. “It’s similar to what they filed in other Amazon cases around the country,” UFCW Local 1776 President Wendell Young IV told CBS MoneyWatch. “This company is going to take advantage of Trump cleaning house,” Young said. Amazon and Whole Foods are delaying in hopes of getting a business-friendlier NLRB, or “that ultimately the Supreme Court will have a different view than past courts,” he added of lawsuits filed by Amazon and Elon Musk’s SpaceX challenging the NLRB’s structure as unconstitutional. “This might be an existential moment” for the U.S. labor movement, Bodie said. Kate Gibson Kate Gibson is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch in New York, where she covers business and consumer finance. Source link #Trump #paralyzed #agency #safeguards #worker #rights #labor #experts #advocates Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Earth’s inner core may have changed shape, say scientists Earth’s inner core may have changed shape, say scientists The inner core of Earth may have changed shape in the past 20 years, according to a group of scientists. The inner core is usually thought to be shaped like a ball, but its edges may actually have deformed by 100m or more in height in places, according to Prof John Vidale who led the research. Earth’s core is the beating heart of our planet as it produces a magnetic field that protects life from burning up in the Sun’s radiation. The inner core spins independently from the liquid outer core and from the rest of the planet. Without this motion, Earth would die and become more like barren Mars which lost its magnetic field billions of years ago. The change in shape could be happening where the edge of the solid inner core touches the extremely hot liquid metal outer core. The research is published in the scientific journal Nature Geoscience. The scientists were originally trying to find out why the inner core may have slowed down to a slower pace than Earth’s rotation before speeding back up again in 2010. Understanding how the Earth’s core works is essential to understanding the magnetic field that protects the planet, and whether that could weaken or stop. The inside of our planet is an extremely mysterious place. The core is about 4,000 miles from the Earth’s surface and, despite best efforts, scientists have so far been unable to reach it. So, to try to unlock its secrets, some researchers measure the shockwaves caused by earthquakes as they ripple through the planet. The way the waves travel reveals what type of material they moved through, including in the inner core, and help to paint a picture of what lies beneath our feet. The new analysis looked at seismic wave patterns from earthquakes that repeated in the same location between 1991 and 2023. That helped to show how the inner core is changing over time. Prof Vidale, an earth scientist at the University of Southern California, found more evidence to back up the theory that during those years the inner core slowed down around 2010. But his team also found the evidence of the inner core’s changing shape. It appears to be happening at the boundary of the inner and outer core, where the inner core is close to melting point. The liquid flow of the outer core as well as pull from an uneven gravity field may cause deformation. Prof Hrvoje Tkalcic from *********** National University, who was not involved in the study, said the paper provides “an interesting concept that should be explored further”. He said it could allow scientists “to make more informed estimates of some important material properties, such as the viscosity of the inner core, which is one of the least known quantities in modern science”. Over time the liquid outer core is freezing into the solid inner core, but it will be billions of years before it becomes completely solid. It would almost certainly mean the end of life on Earth, but by then the planet is already likely to have been swallowed by the Sun. Prof Vidale’s work is part of investigations by experts around the world exploring and arguing over what happens in the core. “In science, we generally try to look at things until we understand them,” Prof Vidale says. “In all likelihood, this finding doesn’t affect our daily lives one iota, but we really want to understand what’s happening in the middle of the Earth,” he adds. It is possible that the changes are connected to changes in Earth’s magnetic field. “The magnetic field has had jerks at various times in the past few decades, and we’d like to know if that is related to what we’re seeing at the inner core boundary,” he said. Prof Vidale urged caution about hyping the findings into ideas that the core is going to stop rotating any time soon. He also added that there are still lots of uncertainties. “We’re not 100% sure we’re interpreting these changes correctly,” saying that the boundaries of scientific knowledge are always changing and, like many if not all researchers, he has been wrong in the past. Source link #Earths #core #changed #shape #scientists Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Hilarous Helldivers 2 Bug Gives a Glimpse of the Horrors that Could Befall Super Earth if the Illuminate Invasion is Successful Hilarous Helldivers 2 Bug Gives a Glimpse of the Horrors that Could Befall Super Earth if the Illuminate Invasion is Successful Helldivers 2 is a high-intensity, third-person multiplayer shooter that throws players into an all-out war against three different deadly factions. Developed by Arrowhead Game Studios, the game was released back in 2024 for PlayStation 5 and Windows, quickly becoming a massive hit. The game was a critical success with more than 12 million copies sold within the first three months of its release. Helldivers 2 takes place in the 22nd century on Super Earth | Image Credits: Arrowhead Game Studios The game takes place in the future on a planet called Super Earth, where players take on dangerous missions while hoarding off waves of enemies which are the insect-like Terminids, the cyborg descendants Automatons, and the ancient alien race Illuminate. This time, however, the Illuminates are proving to be a far greater threat to Super Earth than anyone anticipated. Let’s find out why. Who are the Illuminates in Helldivers 2? Illuminates were the most technologically advanced civilization | Image Credits: Arrowhead Game Studios In Helldivers 2, players are locked in a brutal war against three formidable factions, but the sequel from 2024 places a special emphasis on one race in particular, a species far more dangerous than ever imagined. The Illuminate, also known as the Squ’iths, who were once the most technologically advanced civilization in the galaxy. Originally the Illuminates were a peaceful species, but everything changed after the Great War in 2015, which had left the Federation of Super Earth as the dominant power. The Illuminates opted to co-exist with the Super Earth Federation, but when they discovered how the alien species have planet-destroying technology, humanity refused to accept the offer and war broke out. Eventually, the Illuminates lost in the war and suffered heavy losses with their entire species thought to be wiped out. But now, they have returned from the shadows, stronger, scarier, and with forces of human zombies. They are hell-bent on exacting revenge against the Super Earth Federation. Recently a video on Reddit became popular showing how an Illuminate Overseer had infiltrated the Super Destroyer ship and was trying to attack the players in the ship. The Illuminate entering the ship is probably a bug because currently, enemy entities can’t enter the Super Destroyer. What is the alien species capable of? Illuminates are more powerful than they seem | Image Credits: Arrowhead Game Studios While the Illuminates pose a huge threat to the Super Earth Federation, their recent infiltration of the Super Destroyer Ship has sparked some concerns among players. Although this incident is clearly a bug, which is evidenced by the Overseer clipping through players, it unintentionally paints a scary picture of what could happen if the Illuminates were to breach humanity’s last lines of defense. Comment byu/OrphanNL from discussion inHelldivers Comment byu/OrphanNL from discussion inHelldivers Comment byu/OrphanNL from discussion inHelldivers If the Illuminates were to break the last lines of defense, it could result in catastrophic damage to Super Earth. Their advanced technologies and mind-controlling abilities could bring an end to the federation. This comedic bug acts as a chilling reminder of how powerful the Illuminates actually are. If they can return from extinction, what else are they capable of? For now, the Helldivers stand strong, but with each passing battle, another galactic super war against the Illuminate draws closer. Source link #Hilarous #Helldivers #Bug #Glimpse #Horrors #Befall #Super #Earth #Illuminate #Invasion #Successful Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Wall St advances as Trump's tariffs lift US steelmakers Wall St advances as Trump's tariffs lift US steelmakers US stocks have opened higher as investors focus on the administrations plans for tariffs on overseas steel and aluminium. Source link #Wall #advances #Trump039s #tariffs #lift #steelmakers Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Overwatch 2’s Most Infamous Feature Is Getting Unexpected Praise But is it Here to Stay? Overwatch 2’s Most Infamous Feature Is Getting Unexpected Praise But is it Here to Stay? Cosmetics are one of the most important aspects of any multiplayer title these days. Overwatch 2 is also not an exception. However, it’s not like Blizzard has put that aspect at the top of the priority list all the time. In recent years, there have been just recolors of the previously released skins. Overwatch 2 was released on October 4, 2022. | Credit: Blizzard Entertainment. This tendency also looked more baseless amidst a situation where this highly popular hero shooter was rapidly losing players to none other than Marvel Rivals. But now, Blizzard might have thought about this issue and started releasing new skins, instead of just blatant recolored ones. But the question is, for how long? Overwatch 2 has finally started releasing brand-new skins instead of recolored ones Season 14 of Overwatch 2 brought an array of new skins. | Credit: Blizzard Entertainment. Blizzard recently dropped a bunch of recolored skins despite Marvel Rivals‘s huge success with its extensive cosmetic line-ups. Those new recolored skins in Overwatch 2 were intended to represent the former Overwatch League, which was later on replaced by the Overwatch Champions Series. At that time, we got to see the purple and gold recolored versions of Zenyatta, Echo, Mercy, and D.Va. Despite having a connection to a significant part of the game’s journey, fans never liked those skins. However, it seems Blizzard has finally steadied itself as it has begun releasing brand-new skins. In Season 14, Overwatch 2 added a lot of brand-new skins for the heroes in the game, like Junker Queen (Jotunn), Reinhardt (Thor), Bastion (Cardboard), Sigma (Odin), and many more. And fans seemed to be falling in love with the game yet again, seeing the brilliance of the skin designers of the game. Comment byu/jarred99 from discussion inOverwatch Comment byu/jarred99 from discussion inOverwatch Comment byu/jarred99 from discussion inOverwatch Comment byu/jarred99 from discussion inOverwatch Comment byu/jarred99 from discussion inOverwatch Several skins in Overwatch 2 Season 14: Hazard appear to have cybernetic influences, which are probably a reference to Hazard’s backstory, especially with regard to some of the featured characters (Hazard & Moira). Additionally, there are a number of warm, winter-themed cosmetics for the holidays that feature many heroes that fans love. Finally, there seem to be a number of cosmetics with Norse God themes that complement the Thor Reinhardt Mythic skin for Season 14. It’s a pretty fun time for the Overwatch 2 fans, but Blizzard has to make sure that it doesn’t interrupt this fun by getting back to the previous tendency of releasing recolored skins only. The First Descendant fans also suffer from this tendency. Is Overwatch 2 falling short of Marvel Rivals? Marvel Rivals has become the biggest threat to Overwatch 2. | Credit: NetEase Games. Marvel Rivals has been dubbed the “Overwatch killer” since its release. That may be debatable, but one thing is certain: NetEase Games has thoroughly researched and addressed every detail that Blizzard overlooked in the Overwatch franchise. In contrast to Overwatch 2, which lowered the team size to 5v5, Marvel Rivals attempted to balance the squad and added 6v6 gameplay. As a result, tank characters no longer feel as much pressure to lead the team. Clash of Dancing Lion, Marvel Rivals‘ newest limited-time football game mode, was recently hinted at in the Spring Festival trailer, which is another concerning factor for Blizzard. This game mode almost immediately reminded us of Lucioball, a popular game mode in Overwatch 2. Now talking about the story, indeed, the plot of Overwatch 2 is impressive, but Marvel Rivals, which is already well-liked by young gamers, centers on the famous settings of Marvel films and tells the Marvel stories. Finally, Marvel Rivals is surpassing Overwatch 2 in difficulty. The character abilities are distributed equally among all character classes because the game is a combat team-based one, giving each team member equal importance. Let’s see what Blizzard has in its mind to bring back the lost glory of Overwatch 2. Source link #Overwatch #Infamous #Feature #Unexpected #Praise #Stay Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Father who stabbed daughter to death previously jailed for slashing man’s face Father who stabbed daughter to death previously jailed for slashing man’s face A father convicted of stabbing his 14-year-old daughter to death previously slashed a man across the face with a Stanley knife, it has emerged. Simon Vickers was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 15 years, on Monday for the ******* of his only child, Scarlett. At the sentencing hearing at Teesside Crown Court, it was revealed he had a previous conviction for wounding with intent in 1993, when he was 19, and was sentenced to two years’ detention. Vickers was convicted of ******* last month following a trial at which he claimed his daughter died in an accident while they were play-fighting. The sentencing judge said Vickers’s account about how he “accidentally” swiped a kitchen knife into his daughter’s chest in the kitchen of their family home was “unconvincing and wholly implausible”. The 50-year-old defendant had given differing versions of what happened in the seconds before he plunged the blade 11cm into her chest, piercing her lung and heart. Her mother, Sarah Hall, was the only other person in the kitchen of their Darlington home at the time. She stood by her partner of 27 years, telling the court that Vickers loved their child and would never harm her. However, jurors convicted him by a majority of 10 to two. Scarlett Vickers was described in court as a ‘normal, healthy woman with a long life ahead of her’ – Durham Constabulary Dr Jennifer Bolton, a Home Office pathologist, said the injury must have been caused by a knife held with force and was not accidental. Mr Justice Cotter accepted the defendant was “devastated”, that he was a “broken man” and that there was no premeditation or intention to kill. The judge said: “You have lost your only child at your own hand and you will always live with that awful fact… “Only you know precisely what happened in that kitchen on that Friday evening which led to you fatally stabbing your only daughter in what should have been the safety of her own home. “It was a momentary but devastating act of anger.” The court heard how Ms Hall was making spaghetti bolognese on the evening of July 5 when she and her daughter began throwing grapes at each other in jest. Ms Hall grabbed some tongs and snipped at her partner of 27 years. When he complained he had been hurt, Scarlett implied her father was being “wimpy”. During the trial, Ms Hall claimed that during the play-fighting, she turned away to serve the family’s evening meal and then heard Scarlett say “Ow”. She said she then looked at their child and immediately saw blood pouring out of her. Ms Hall made a 999 call and told the operator they had been “messing about” and that her partner had thrown something at their daughter “and he didn’t realise”. Vickers told a paramedic that his daughter had lunged towards him during a bout of play-fighting, the court heard. Scarlett bled to death at the scene. Mr Justice Cotter said the offence was aggravated because Scarlett was a child who should have been safe in her own home. Vickers had drunk wine and smoked cannabis that night but the judge was not sure whether alcohol had contributed to the crime, which he was convinced was caused by “a flash of anger”. He added: “Scarlett was just 14, a normal, healthy woman with a long life ahead of her when it was cut short by you. “She died in the kitchen of her own home within minutes of having been stabbed. “It went from an ordinary, happy family Friday night to tragedy within seconds due to what must have been your loss of temper. “There is no other plausible explanation. You have never given a truthful explanation of what happened.” Flowers left outside the family’s home in Darlington in July last year – North News / NNP Mark McKone KC, prosecuting, told the court about Vickers’s previous 1993 conviction for wounding with intent when he attacked a man’s face with a Stanley knife. Nicholas Lumley KC, defending, said: “Each of those left behind by Scarlett have been left serving life sentences of their own from which none of them will ever be free.” He added: “Sarah Hall remains resolute in her belief that the father of her only child did not intend Scarlett any harm and his parents are of the same view. “None can believe that he will now be known as Scarlett’s *********.” Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Source link #Father #stabbed #daughter #death #previously #jailed #slashing #mans #face Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Things Too Ugly Review | TheXboxHub Things Too Ugly Review | TheXboxHub “The Kraków-based (Poland) indie games publisher Baltoro Games and solo indie games developer Professor Space Games, today announced with great thrill and joy that their first-person psychological horror game “Things Too Ugly”, is coming to PC via Steam in 2024.” – Jonas Ek, TGG. Source link #Ugly #Review #TheXboxHub Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

3 Basic Materials Stocks That Could Gain from New Tariffs 3 Basic Materials Stocks That Could Gain from New Tariffs If price action is any indication of what the market is thinking, investors can check the stocks that led the industry over the past week. The industry has seen a spike in volatility as a result of President Trump’s latest round of tariffs. With this in mind, the market has figured out the potential effect of these tariffs. By boosting some specific stocks in the basic materials industry, the market’s take on tariffs is that they might be a net positive overall in the coming months for this industry. By spotting some of the best-performing stocks in this weekly breakout, investors can align themselves and their portfolios to potential upside while everyone else scrambles to find safety and stability in the market. Knowing this, today’s list is going to be important to keep handy in the following days as more tariff talks are made with China and potentially Europe. Starting with Albemarle (NYSE:) to give investors a chance to tap into aggressive earnings growth, then there is Alcoa (NYSE:), which is also drawing some attention from Wall Street analysts lately for decent upside, and finally, AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:), which is thriving on gold’s new all-time high prices. 1. Albemarle Stock’s EPS Growth Is Underrated Trading at only 56% of its 52-week high, Albemarle has now fallen to an undeniable discount for investors to take advantage of today. The reason for this fantastic risk-to-reward ratio comes not only from the stock’s low price relative to 52-week highs but also because of where Wall Street analysts think underlying earnings per share (EPS) can go. For the next financial quarter, analysts forecast up to $1.03 in EPS, a massive jump from the current quarter’s $0.04. Knowing that EPS growth typically drives stock prices, investors can safely assume that today’s consensus price target of only $113.9 a share for Albemarle stock, calling for a 42.5% upside from today’s prices, does not reflect true earnings growth. This discrepancy between growth and valuations could explain why Clifford Swan Investment Counsel decided to boost its holdings in Albemarle stock by 1% as of February 2025. While this addition may not seem like much on a percentage basis, it did bring the group’s net position to a high of $10.8 million today. Taking this as another bullish gauge, investors can see how this stock can be a great addition to a new tariff regime. 2. Analysts Like Alcoa Stock Now As primary metals delivered the second consecutive month of expansion in the latest manufacturing PMI data, this new demand seems to be tied to the fact that the automotive industry’s supply chain will change in composition, as Mexico’s imports will become more expensive for domestic automakers. Because of this, investors can understand the 6.4% decline in shares of Ford (NYSE:) after the company announced lower demand outlooks in its recent quarterly earnings report. This is where Alcoa’s stock comes into play, as its aluminum will be called on to support the domestic capacity and supply chain for automakers. It would be no surprise to see analysts from Bank of America initiate their coverage of Alcoa stock with a buy rating as of late January 2025. More than that, their valuations are now set at a high of $58 a share, which calls for a new 52-week high in the stock and a net upside of 60.2% from where it trades today. Understanding that the upside potential is attractive enough at today’s low level of 76% of its 52-week high, the Bank of New York Mellon became a buyer as of February 2025 by boosting its position to a net high of $96.4 million in Alcoa stock. 3. Short Sellers Give Up After Gold’s New Run Now that prices have recently reached an all-time high, it has become a painful truth to short sellers that they might have been betting on the wrong side of the market. This is why investors can see a net 13% decline in AngloGold’s short interest over the past month alone, a clear sign of bearish capitulation. To replace these short sellers who were leaving their positions behind, the Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:) decided to expand their buying activity to include more than just Alcoa stock. As of February 2025, they boosted their holdings in AngloGold by 9.9% to bring their net position to a high of $13.8 million, another bullish gauge on the broader theme helping the sector. By trading at 96% of its 52-week high today and delivering a one-year performance of up to 74.2%, AngloGold stock is now the perfect stock to keep momentum investors happy, especially as the broader tailwinds keep building on stronger in the basic materials space. Original Post Source link #Basic #Materials #Stocks #Gain #Tariffs Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Why Trump’s Tariffs on China Might Not Be the Solution Why Trump’s Tariffs on China Might Not Be the Solution President Trump is tough on China when it comes to trade. He especially points to one number to say we’re being ripped off: our trade deficit. Ana Swanson, who covers trade and international economics for The New York Times, explains Trump’s approach to lowering the trade deficit with China and why some economists question his strategy. Source link #Trumps #Tariffs #China #Solution Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Aloft – PC Early Access Preview | Thumb Culture Aloft – PC Early Access Preview | Thumb Culture Aloft is a new survival crafter co-op game from Astrolabe Interactive Inc. (Sacrifice Your Friends), with publishing by Funcom (Conan Exiles, Secret World),. Explore floating islands alone or with up to seven other friends as you glide between them collecting resources and secrets. Aloft is currently only available as Early Access on PC via Steam. Source link #Aloft #Early #Access #Preview #Thumb #Culture Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Kendrick Lamar’s bootcut jeans steal Super Bowl half-time show – The Guardian Kendrick Lamar’s bootcut jeans steal Super Bowl half-time show – The Guardian Kendrick Lamar’s bootcut jeans steal Super Bowl half-time show The GuardianKendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Show: The Peak of All Rap Battles? The New York TimesHow Drake lost worse than the Chiefs at the Super Bowl CNNReview: Kendrick Lamar brings America and ‘Not Like Us’ into history-making Super Bowl halftime show The Associated PressThis Is Why Serena Williams’s Super Bowl Cameo Was Such a Big Deal Harper’s BAZAAR Source link #Kendrick #Lamars #bootcut #jeans #steal #Super #Bowl #halftime #show #Guardian Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Vietnam bartender arrested over tourist deaths linked to tainted alcohol – National Vietnam bartender arrested over tourist deaths linked to tainted alcohol – National A bartender was arrested in Vietnam Friday for allegedly making a deadly homemade limoncello that led to the death of a British woman and her fiancé in December. According to local reports, the provincial police agency pressed charges against the 46-year-old bartender, identified as Le Tan Gia, for violating food safety regulations. Officers said that Gia had used 70 per cent medical alcohol, mixing it with water, lemonade and sugar to make the limoncello that he sold the couple on Dec. 24, police said in a statement. Police also noted that the alcohol used was disinfectant only, and not to be used in food processing. Police in Hoi An arrested 46-year-old bartender Le Tan Gia on Feb. 7. Công An Quảng Nam / Facebook “After taking the drinks, the two suffered serious methanol poisoning, leading to their death,” the statement said. Story continues below advertisement Local police added that the case is currently being investigated and handled by the police force. On Dec. 26, Greta Marie Otteson, 33, and Arno Quinto Els, 36, were found dead in separate rooms at the Hoi An Silverbell Villa in Hội An, according to Vietnam News. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. The Vietnamese police had confirmed that Otteson and Els died from methanol poisoning from contaminated alcohol after consuming tainted “homemade” limoncello. Methanol is a clear, colourless alcohol used in all kinds of everyday products like industrial cleaners, solvents, paint, cosmetics and anti-freeze. Methanol is toxic and deadly when consumed. 1:56 Health Matters: 7 tourists hospitalized in Fiji over tainted alcohol The couple allegedly ordered two bottles of limoncello from a restaurant on Christmas Eve and woke up with “the worst hangover ever” on Christmas Day and tried to “sleep it off.” Story continues below advertisement Otteson reportedly contacted her parents via WhatsApp on Christmas Day to tell them about her hangover and that she was seeing “****** spots” in her vision. Vietnam News said that authorities collected several empty liquor bottles from the scene. It was also reported that the initial findings “showed no signs of scratches or external force on the bodies.” Trending Now Trump to announce 25% steel and aluminum tariffs, will include Canada Trump’s invasion threats violate international law: ********* ambassador “The Vietnamese police have now confirmed that the cause of death was methanol poisoning, as verified by the autopsy results,” Otteson’s parents said in a statement. “Both Greta and Arno were experienced worldwide travellers. They found their perfect home and were incredibly happy with their life in Vietnam, planning for the future,” their statement continued. “They were a loving couple with their life ahead of them. The tributes we have had from around the world are unbelievable. Our aim is to bring the people who supplied the alcohol and killed Greta and Arno to justice.” 1:38 2nd *********** teen dies from tainted liquor in Laos; 6 tourists dead in total On Nov. 20, 2024, Canada issued a travel advisory after six tourists, mostly aged 19 to 20, died from suspected methanol poisoning in a popular backpacker town in northern Laos earlier that month. Story continues below advertisement “Several foreigners in Vang Vieng have been victims of suspected methanol-adulterated alcohol poisoning,” the warning read. “Be vigilant if you choose to drink alcohol. Avoid accepting free or extremely low-priced drinks. Only buy alcohol in sealed bottles and cans from reputable shops. Seek medical assistance if you begin to feel sick.” The advisory was released after two *********** teenagers and a British woman died from suspected methanol poisoning after drinking tainted alcohol in Laos. —With files from Global News’ Katie Dangerfield More on World More videos &copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc. Source link #Vietnam #bartender #arrested #tourist #deaths #linked #tainted #alcohol #National Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Sony Players Dissatisfied by Compensation After 24-Hour PSN Downtime Sony Players Dissatisfied by Compensation After 24-Hour PSN Downtime Obscure_Observer2d ago “I see the more you relise that the more you rage at other people… also you seem to forget that I want PlayStation games on PC, why would that be bad news to me? I’ll be looking forward to playing them on my new 5090 build in a couple of weeks.” That´s awesome! Congratulations! I hope you really enjoy it, and start to play more, be excited and talk more about games, support Sony and don´t buy games from MS. Stand for your own opinions and principles for once. New PC. New life! “Also learn about how divisions in businesses work and what boycotting games does to said divisions, you seem to think not buying games will hurt the multi-trillion dollar company and not the publishers they tried to take away from gamers.” Spare from this nonsense, man. There´s no independent publishers or studios under MS´s wings anymore, and you know it! They´re all Microsoft employees now! They no longer have the power to decide which game will be next! They no longer have the power to decide if they want their games to be on Gamepass or even PS Plus anymore! That´s MS! Take Sony for instance. They bough the freaking Bungie for 3.7 Billion! And what is Bungie today under Playstation´s management after 3 years? Literally a shadow of its former self! Sony fired people by the thousands, reallocated many developer to other studios and sectors, promoted several budge cuts to the point that Destiny will no longer able to produce larger expansions for Destiny like they used to. In case Marathon fails to deliver and be a huge success, that studio might die on Sony´s watch. Microsoft is no different! Austin ****** up with Redfall? Closed! Tango didn´t screew up and MS sold them. Toys for Bob is independent now. MS is the one paying all those people. Ms is the one approving and paying for those games to be developed. They don´t need a reason to shut down ANY studio, being said studios successful or not! So you can quit your fake heroic act. You´re buying MS games to help no others but yourself and MS! So don´t mind when I call you out on your hypocrisy and fake concerns with MS´s employees. You don´t care for them the same way you don´t care for developers getting fired at Sony which promoted yet another wave of layoffs and unsurprisingly you didn´t show up on the topic, because Sony´s employees don´t deserve sympathy because Sony is the best company in the world, and they have their justified reasons, right? “…do you know what courage means? What a mess this news is turning you into, touch grass kid.” You clearly don´t know what it is once you won´t stand for your own values and opinions. You´re the on complaining while gladly filling MS´s pocket full of money! Making the rich even richer! Those are the facts. Be better. Grow a spine and stop support Xbox games! Source link #Sony #Players #Dissatisfied #Compensation #24Hour #PSN #Downtime Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Valve clarifies ban on in-game advertising on Steam Valve clarifies ban on in-game advertising on Steam Yesterday, Valve made waves when it updated its Steamworks Documentation now to include a dedicated “Advertising on Steam” page, illuminating its anti-advertising-on-Steam stance— GamingOnLinux proceeded to report on this as a new policy. Still, this was just a dedicated page for an existing policy, as noted by SteamDB and later GamingOnLinux when it realized its error. In any case, making and dropping a dedicated page just for this question communicates the restrictions more clearly and helps ensure that developers don’t think they can get away with posting ad-laden, mobile game-esque slop on Steam. While the little regulation on Steam still allows for a lot, the most common freemium models from mobile gaming still are not welcome on the platform. The official page under “Not Supported” states: “Developers should not utilize paid advertising as a business model in their game, such as requiring players to watch or otherwise engage with advertising in order to play, or gating gameplay behind advertising. If your game’s business model relies on advertising on other platforms, you will need to remove those elements before shipping on Steam. Some options you could consider include switching to a single purchase ‘paid app,’ or making your game free to play with optional upgrades sold via Microtransactions or Downloadable Content (DLC).” Other behaviors considered “Not Supported” on Steam include using “advertising as a way to provide value to players, such as giving players a reward for watching or engaging with advertising in their game” or charging “other developers for access to Steam features. These include ***** pages, bundles, store pages, franchise pages, etc.”. A limited degree of advertising is still allowed on Steam and listed as “Supported.” Still, these all describe your more typical product placements, cross-promotions, and paid ads for games available on Steam outside of Steam. Of course, advertising is a part of any publisher or developer’s toolkit— it’s just unacceptable as a core tenet of gameplay, as Valve has now made it extra clear by setting aside a dedicated page on the matter. Previously, this information was relegated to a few brief FAQs on the existing “Pricing” documentation page. The relevant FAQs state: Get Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. “Steam does not support paid ads or referral/affiliate revenue from showing ads for other games and/or products or services. If your game’s revenue relies on advertising on other platforms, you will need to find a new monetization model in order to release on Steam. Some options you could consider: Switch your game be a single purchase or make it free to play with microtransactions or additional content as DLC” and “Steam does not support models where a customer is blocked and needs to pay to continue playing. If you would like to have a free demo to show off your game, you’re welcome to do so. Your demo and full game can share files as well to continue game play. To figure out if a demo is the right thing for your game, please check out the Demos Documentation”. To those who have monitored Valve or used Steam frequently over the years, these policies shouldn’t be much of a surprise. Mobile titles with these business models that make their way to Steam inevitably change to either a one-time purchase or a more palatable Free-To-Play model, in line with titles that pioneered that model for PC players, like Valve’s own 2007-launched, 2011-turned-live-service, Team Fortress 2. As noted by GamingOnLinux in its coverage, Valve has also long banned games reliant upon blockchain technologies, including crypto and NFTs, being sold on Steam. Considering how often these ventures (particularly NFTs) end up being outright scams, this is still a very wise policy on their part, but it, of course, does not stop the likes of studios like Ubisoft from self-publishing abhorrent NFT-RPGs, either. Source link #Valve #clarifies #ban #ingame #advertising #Steam Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Student loan borrowers could see bills balloon under GOP proposal Student loan borrowers could see bills balloon under GOP proposal US President Donald Trump speaks during the National Prayer Breakfast at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on February 6, 2025. Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images As House Republicans look for ways to slash spending to fund President Donald Trump’s tax cuts, they’ve floated proposals that could raise federal student loan bills for millions of borrowers. GOP lawmakers are expected to use the budget reconciliation process to make major cuts to the federal budget. The savings from the student repayment plan overhaul would be $127.3 billion over 10 years, according to their estimate. The timing is uncertain on when any of these changes could surface. It’s also possible that the final Republican plan will be different than those proposed. But the average student loan borrower could pay nearly $200 a month more if the GOP plans to reshape the repayment program succeed, according to an early estimate by The Institute for College Access & Success. “Most people don’t have an extra $200 a month to throw toward their student loan bill,” said Michele Shepard Zampini, senior director of college affordability at The Institute. Under the Republican-backed plans, the average borrower could see their monthly bill swell to $288 from $95, TICAS calculated. Researchers at TICAS estimated the monthly bill from repayment terms floated under current and former GOP-backed proposals. They compared those bills to what borrowers would pay under the Biden administration’s new income-driven repayment option, known as the Saving on a Valuable Education plan, or SAVE. More from Personal Finance: What the ‘mother of all trade wars’ can teach us about U.S. tariffs Could Trump’s tariffs replace the income tax? Stockpiling ahead of higher tariffs is a big mistake The changes to the student loan system would likely only apply to new borrowers, said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. If GOP lawmakers mirror the repayment terms in the legislation introduced by Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., and supported by many House Republicans last year, the College Cost Reduction Act, the typical student loan borrower with an associate degree could pay around 50% more over time than they would under SAVE, a new report by the Center for American Progress noted. Graduate students, however, could pay between 10% and 15% less than on SAVE. “Paying for tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy on the backs of student loan borrowers who are already struggling would be deeply unfair and harmful to millions of Americans,” said Sara Partridge, associate director of higher education policy at the Center for American Progress. A reversal from SAVE plan Republicans have expressed interest in narrowing the number of income-driven repayment (IDR) plans for student loan borrowers to just one. Congress created IDR plans in the 1990s to make borrowers’ bills more affordable. The plans cap people’s monthly payments at a share of their income, and cancel any remaining debt after a certain *******, typically 20 years or 25 years. More than 12 million people were enrolled in the plans as of September 2024, according to Kantrowitz. Former President Joe Biden’s SAVE plan, which is currently tied up in legal challenges, had the most generous terms of any IDR plan to date. It cut many borrowers’ bills in half and offered expedited loan forgiveness to those with smaller balances. SAVE could cost as much as $475 billion over a decade, an analysis by Pennsylvania’s Penn Wharton Budget Model found. That made it a target for Republicans, who argued that taxpayers shouldn’t be asked to subsidize the loan payments of those who’ve benefited from a higher education, experts explained. Critics also accused Biden of trying, with SAVE, to find a roundabout way to forgive student debt after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2023 that his sweeping debt cancellation plan was unconstitutional. Meanwhile, consumer advocates say that most families now need to borrow to send their children to college and that they will require more affordable ways to repay their debt. Research shows that student loans make it harder for people to start businesses, buy a house and even have children. In addition to scrapping SAVE and leaving borrowers’ with just one IDR plan option, Republican lawmakers may also move to end the loan forgiveness that borrowers are currently entitled to after a certain time ******* on the plans, experts said. That would deprive many borrowers of a way out of their debt, according to Kantrowitz. “It will effectively be a form of never-ending indentured servitude,” he said. Source link #Student #loan #borrowers #bills #balloon #GOP #proposal Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

‘The Substance’ | Anatomy of a Scene ‘The Substance’ | Anatomy of a Scene The writer and director Coralie Fargeat narrates a sequence from her film starring Demi Moore. Source link #Substance #Anatomy #Scene Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Matildas skipper Kerr waits after jury is sent out Matildas skipper Kerr waits after jury is sent out A jury in Sam Kerr’s London trial on charges of racially aggravated harassment has finished hearing evidence and been sent out to consider their verdict. Source link #Matildas #skipper #Kerr #waits #jury Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Milwaukee will be a ‘winter wonderland’ on Wednesday with several inches of snowfall, says NWS Milwaukee will be a ‘winter wonderland’ on Wednesday with several inches of snowfall, says NWS Forecasters are reporting an increasing chance for accumulating snow on Wednesday across the Milwaukee area. The National Weather Service predicts a potential for four or more inches of snow on Wednesday. The highest amounts of snow will be focused in the southeast, especially where lake enhancement and lake effect will increase snow totals. Snowfall in Milwaukee will start on Wednesday sometime during the morning hours and snow through the afternoon and linger into the evening, with the highest chance of snowfall in the afternoon and evening. “It will absolutely will impact the evening commute in Milwaukee. I would expect you’re going to have snow covered roads, slick conditions. It is going to be cold enough for the snow to easily stick,” said NWS meteoroglist Mark Gehring. Highs in Milwaukee will land around the upper-20s on Wednesday during the day, and will drop into the teens on Wednesday night into Thursday morning. “Thursday morning it will be a winter wonderland,” said Gehring. The NWS reports there is still plenty of uncertainty in the track and strength of this system, especially on the northern side, and that any changes could greatly impact potential snow totals. Wisconsin weather radar:Wisconsin weather warnings This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee weather: Several inches of snow forecast on Wednesday Source link #Milwaukee #winter #wonderland #Wednesday #inches #snowfall #NWS Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Guardiola draws line under Real Madrid boycott row Guardiola draws line under Real Madrid boycott row Pep Guardiola has said there was no bad blood between Manchester City and Real Madrid after the Spanish giants boycotted last year’s Ballon d’Or awards in an apparent protest. Real did not attend the gala ceremony in Paris in October when City midfielder Rodri was voted the best player in the world ahead of Brazil and Real forward Vinicius Junior. The City manager has drawn a line under the controversy ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League play-off between the rivals. Asked if there were any hard feelings over Real’s boycott, he said: “Absolutely not. “Vinicius make an extraordinary year as well (as Rodri). He deserves it. Like in the past when (Lionel) Messi and Cristiano (Ronaldo) was fighting for that. The subject is over.” City defender Ruben Dias also avoided heightening tensions ahead of the first leg at the Etihad Stadium. “Being very honest with you, I didn’t spend one second thinking about if it was disrespectful or not. I was happy with Rodri. I was there. I was, I celebrated with him that night,” he said. The rivalry between City and Real has become one of the fiercest in the Champions League in recent years. This is the fourth season in a row that the two teams have gone head-to-head, with the winner on the last three occasions going on to lift the trophy. Real, the reigning champions, have added Kylian Mbappe to an already star-studded attack this season and the French World Cup winner has scored nine goals in his last eight games. Guardiola admitted it was unrealistic to expect City to be able to nullify Madrid’s attacking threat, which also includes Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo and Endrick. “I think it’s impossible for 90 minutes, 180 minutes or 200 minutes – it depends on extra time – to control these four players,” he said. “They are exceptional.” Real and 2023 champions City are only meeting now because they made such hard work of the competition’s new-look format. City went into the final round of games in the 36-team league phase needing to win just to secure the lifeline of a play-off. l finished 11th, with the top eight automatically advancing to the round of 16. “This season we struggled a lot,” Guardiola said. “Of course it would be good to continue for the club, for the prestige to win this competition.” Source link #Guardiola #draws #line #Real #Madrid #boycott #row Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Monster Hunter Wilds Extends Beta Test Due to PlayStation Network Outage Monster Hunter Wilds Extends Beta Test Due to PlayStation Network Outage Monster Hunter Wilds players could not enjoy the recent open beta test 2 over the weekend due to the recent PlayStation Network outage. As compensation, the developers will extend the second week of OBT 2. The developers had planned to conduct two Open Beta Test 2 sessions, the first between February 6 and 9 and the second between February 13 and 16. However, after the PSN issue hampered the experience during the first week, they decided to extend the second session across all platforms (PlayStation 5, Xbox, and Steam). The extended ******* for the Monster Hunter Wilds open beta test 2 is “Feb. 13, 7 pm PT / Feb. 14, 3 am GMT – Feb. 17, 6:59 pm PT / Feb. 18, 2:59 am GMT.” The developers have stated that players will still be eligible for “participation bonuses” during the extended Monster Hunter Wilds beta test. These bonuses will also be available in the full version of the game. The beta test features a new training mode, crossplay, Gypceros, Arkveld, the previously available content, and more. Monster Hunter Wilds’s open beta test 2 was not the only game affected during the PlayStation Network outage. All online games on the platform were rendered unplayable, and players could only access their single-player physical titles. Sony stated that an “operational issue” caused the 20-hour outage, and as compensation, it has provided players with 5 days of free PlayStation Plus. Here’s a guide on all Monster Hunter Wilds, including the release time, editions, prices, etc. Also, here’s how the previous open beta test went. What are your thoughts on Monster Hunter Wilds extending their open beta test 2 due to the PlayStation Network outage? Let us know in the comments or on our new community forum! For more information from Insider Gaming, read about Marvel Rivals having it’s own section on Disney Plus. Don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter. SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to receive the latest news and exclusive leaks every week! No Spam. Source link #Monster #Hunter #Wilds #Extends #Beta #Test #Due #PlayStation #Network #Outage Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]